admiral horatio nelson destroyed the combined french and spanish fleet at trafalgar off the coast of spain. that triumph was marred by nelson's death from a sniper's bullet. the nation both celebrated his victory and mourned his death for years. nelson's column, built in trafalgar square, commemorated his sacrifice in stone and bronze. turner painted a highly original re-creation of the decisive moment that claimed lord nelson's life, setting it amid the crushing congestion of towering masts, torn sails and the fog of cannon fire at precariously close quarters. the reviews were good. (reader) "mr. turner... has detailed the death of his hero, while he has suggested the whole of a great naval victory, which we believe has never before been successfully accomplished, if it has been before attempted, in a single picture." (narrator) the napoleonic war ended in 1815 at waterloo. the duke of wellington had called the battle "a damn close run-thing." the fragility of civilization intrigued turner throughout his career. the decline of the carthaginian empire depicts the crushing penalty rome infl